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Sep 27, 2012
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attacking the gadhafi regime without a stated policy, what we hoped to gain, the geopolitical view of those who might come to power, and the president continues to operate in a -- an area where he has no articulated policy and four americans are dead, ambassador is dead, and the president still has yet to be able to describe what has occurred and really what is the president's policy? why is it that the president is operating a year after attacking libya without a policy? >> time was of the essence given gadhafi's intention to invade benghazi, go house to house and kill them like rats or words to that effect. and you senator jim demint have requested any diplomatic cables that might have come from ambassador chris stevens, what motivated you to make such a request. what are you hoping learn from the cables? >> first of all, it was myself. >> sorry. it was to you. >> right. first of all, cnn uncovered the diary of chris stevens at the scene. he thought he was in danger and on al qaeda's hit list. i can't believe that a u.s. ambassador who would write that would probably not send a cabl
attacking the gadhafi regime without a stated policy, what we hoped to gain, the geopolitical view of those who might come to power, and the president continues to operate in a -- an area where he has no articulated policy and four americans are dead, ambassador is dead, and the president still has yet to be able to describe what has occurred and really what is the president's policy? why is it that the president is operating a year after attacking libya without a policy? >> time was of...
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Sep 27, 2012
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dollars with warships off the coast of libya attacking the moammar gadhafi regime for the purposes of transitioning libya without a stated policy or defined policy of who we were supporting, what we hoped to gain, the gio political view of those who might come to power and now the president continues to operate in an area where he has no articulated policy. now four americans are dead, our ambassador is debt and the president is yet to be able to describe what has occurred and what is the president's policy? why is it the president is operating a year after having attacked libya without a policy. >> congressman, to be fair, and support of the president and policy will point out that time was of the essence given moammar gadhafi's intention to go house to house and kill them like rats or words to that effect. you and senator jim demint have requested any diplomatic cables that might have come from ambassador chris stevens. what are you hoping to learn, senator, from those cables? >> first of all, it was myself and the senator from tennessee. >> sorry. the question was to you since you
dollars with warships off the coast of libya attacking the moammar gadhafi regime for the purposes of transitioning libya without a stated policy or defined policy of who we were supporting, what we hoped to gain, the gio political view of those who might come to power and now the president continues to operate in an area where he has no articulated policy. now four americans are dead, our ambassador is debt and the president is yet to be able to describe what has occurred and what is the...
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Sep 12, 2012
09/12
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moammar gadhafi didn't permit institutions, civil institutions. he ruled, he was an autocratic dictator. and we knew that. so when he was overthrown, the new government was going to need support, long-term support. they have their own money from oil. they needed help building civil institutions. >> sounds like ambassador stevens wanted to play an integral role in helping that support, the next chapter, if you will, of libya, and his life tragically cut short. fran townsend, thank you so much for calling in. if you get any more information call us back. listening to her speak i can't help but think of the images, our coverage of benghazi, really the birthplace of the revolution, the rebel movement, and here it is the same city in which the ambassador, who wanted to help libyans -- >> who played such a key role in that >> -- was killed. we're sitting on a bunch of shale gas. there's natural gas under my town. it's a game changer. ♪ it means cleaner, cheaper american-made energy. but we've got to be careful how we get it. design the wells to be saf
moammar gadhafi didn't permit institutions, civil institutions. he ruled, he was an autocratic dictator. and we knew that. so when he was overthrown, the new government was going to need support, long-term support. they have their own money from oil. they needed help building civil institutions. >> sounds like ambassador stevens wanted to play an integral role in helping that support, the next chapter, if you will, of libya, and his life tragically cut short. fran townsend, thank you so...
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Sep 28, 2012
09/12
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he supported president obama's action to remove gadhafi. he's been critical of how the administration has handled the benghazi aftermath. we spoke earlier today. take a look. what do you make of the response by the administration in the early days, ambassador rice, and now what they're saying now, they're now saying it was a terrorist attack. the president diuse the word terror early on in the rose garden, but we heard from ambassador rice, who is saying link this to the video that's been released. what do you see as going on? >> i see a fundamental misunderstanding in the larger picture and then on the smaller picture. on the smaller picture, they were either incredibly naive or willfully deceiving the american people. i don't know which, but to think an attack of this nature with heavy weapons, mortars, and a very sophisticated direct fire and indirect fire, that somehow that could be the result of a spontaneous demonstration is just impossible for me to understand. >> let me just throw in a third option, though, which supporters of the a
he supported president obama's action to remove gadhafi. he's been critical of how the administration has handled the benghazi aftermath. we spoke earlier today. take a look. what do you make of the response by the administration in the early days, ambassador rice, and now what they're saying now, they're now saying it was a terrorist attack. the president diuse the word terror early on in the rose garden, but we heard from ambassador rice, who is saying link this to the video that's been...
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Sep 29, 2012
09/12
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and after gadhafi was overthrown, the new government came in, no one has gone to that country and taken the munitions and the weapons and the bombs and mortars out. that's all still sitting there. we'll have the same issue in syria when that ends. for all the stuff that's being sent in to help the rebels, what happens in the aftermath when you've got tons of stuff that came in from all over the world and it falls into the hands of bad guys. or terrorists. >> bob, you're concerned about that particularly even talking about that now for months. >> yeah. it's all over the middle east, there's weapons easily available, they're for sale, they're being shipped around. there's enormous amount of money going into countries like libya and these countries fragment. libya is a tribalized society. it's astounding if you look at the french intelligence reports that there's something like 100,000 to 200,000 militia men in libya but there's only 5,000 to 10,000 regular forces. the central government is outnumbered and to go to the central government and say do something about this is unrealistic. >> t
and after gadhafi was overthrown, the new government came in, no one has gone to that country and taken the munitions and the weapons and the bombs and mortars out. that's all still sitting there. we'll have the same issue in syria when that ends. for all the stuff that's being sent in to help the rebels, what happens in the aftermath when you've got tons of stuff that came in from all over the world and it falls into the hands of bad guys. or terrorists. >> bob, you're concerned about...
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Sep 20, 2012
09/12
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senator john mccain has criticized some of the steps taken since gadhafi has been outed. and he has been critical of what happened to ambassador stevens and the three others. i spoke to senator mccain today. senator mccain, a source told us in the months before ambassador steven's death, he was worried about the never-ending security threats in benghazi and the rise in islamic extremism and growing al qaeda presence and also immensed being on an al qaeda hit list. in june, he wrote in an e-mail to a journalist and i quote, maybe you should head east to benghazi to check out the situation there which appears to be heating up. given all of that, what we are now learning about concerns that he had, does it make any sense to you, the level of -- or the small level of security he apparently had with him? >> it doesn't make any sense, and i'll tell you what doesn't make any sense, is the white house spokesman, secretary of state and ambassador to the u.n., stating categorically, it was not a terrorist attack, it had all of the earmarks of a terrorist attack, rocket-prop rocket-
senator john mccain has criticized some of the steps taken since gadhafi has been outed. and he has been critical of what happened to ambassador stevens and the three others. i spoke to senator mccain today. senator mccain, a source told us in the months before ambassador steven's death, he was worried about the never-ending security threats in benghazi and the rise in islamic extremism and growing al qaeda presence and also immensed being on an al qaeda hit list. in june, he wrote in an e-mail...
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Sep 20, 2012
09/12
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under gadhafi in 2007, libya had established this rehabilitation program, whi obviously this this guy's face failed. he goes back to the fight. it's not clear -- our sources have not independently confirmed that this guy is a prime suspect, but he is known to have served -- to have worked with bin laden in sudan earlier in his career before he was captured and sent to guantanamo. he worked with a well-known islamic charity in afghanistan prior to his capture. and so it would make sense. this is a guy who fights in libya, who is part of an extremist network there. it would make perfect sense that he would be among those that authorities are looking at in the investigation. we've just not confirmed yet that he is a suspect in the murder. >> clear this up for me, if you can. and if i hear you correctly, the amnesty that released him was such that he was to have been kept in custody in libya under gadhafi. did we have any sort of plan in place to monitor that given the fact that the arab spring all over everything, may have actually seen all those people released into the streets? >> well,
under gadhafi in 2007, libya had established this rehabilitation program, whi obviously this this guy's face failed. he goes back to the fight. it's not clear -- our sources have not independently confirmed that this guy is a prime suspect, but he is known to have served -- to have worked with bin laden in sudan earlier in his career before he was captured and sent to guantanamo. he worked with a well-known islamic charity in afghanistan prior to his capture. and so it would make sense. this is...
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Sep 15, 2012
09/12
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you until very recently the focus of the libyan government and libyan security forces have been anti-gadhafi loyalists. right after the immediate aftermath of the tragedy on september 11th and the killing of ambassador stevens, we did hear there was concern about pro-gadhafi loyalists. now they said around the end of august, and when i was there, anderson, on a business trip, everyone i spoke, to libyan and american officials all talked about their growing concern about extremists in darna, a city to the east of benghazi where they believe extremists were gaining strength and they were heavily armed. unfortunately it turns out that that was a valid concern. i never have gotten the sense that they had any idea that there was such an immediate and specific threat against the consulate. in fact, they suggested my going to visit that consulate. >> despite protests through the middle east today, you say officials may be breathing a sigh of relief. why? >> reporter: what we're seeing now in tunisia, i think they were preparing for the worst, the protests would take on that very violent, extreme th
you until very recently the focus of the libyan government and libyan security forces have been anti-gadhafi loyalists. right after the immediate aftermath of the tragedy on september 11th and the killing of ambassador stevens, we did hear there was concern about pro-gadhafi loyalists. now they said around the end of august, and when i was there, anderson, on a business trip, everyone i spoke, to libyan and american officials all talked about their growing concern about extremists in darna, a...
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Sep 25, 2012
09/12
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you'll rely on the local force but let's remember, the local force was decimated after the fall of the gadhafi government and so they're just rebuilding. you're not the only intelligence service in libya so you're going to have allies who have inteigence networks there, you're going to have to rely on them. so all of this, but you're going to have lost this critical foothold in an area, as we have all discussed the rising, you know, extremism in the east of libya, you lose this piece at a critical time. there is certainly on the good news, in terms of on the ground in libya, is this rising up against militant groups in benghazi that we saw last week. >> absolutely. look, anderson, as i said to you, when i was there at the end of august, i had raised these militias inside tripoli. i can only imagine how much worse they were because everyone talked about to the east, the growing problem and so if this tragedy has been the impetus to have the libyans act themselves against the militias, that is a good outcome. it has to be sustained over paired of time. they have to be able to fill that vacuum bu
you'll rely on the local force but let's remember, the local force was decimated after the fall of the gadhafi government and so they're just rebuilding. you're not the only intelligence service in libya so you're going to have allies who have inteigence networks there, you're going to have to rely on them. so all of this, but you're going to have lost this critical foothold in an area, as we have all discussed the rising, you know, extremism in the east of libya, you lose this piece at a...
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Sep 12, 2012
09/12
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in libya moammar gadhafi's gone. the u.s. ambassador and three other people are dead because some terrorists in that country didn't like a movie critical of islam. syria's become a slaughter house murdering the civilian population at will. iran continues the march toward nuclear weapons. i don't want to even think what might happen if they get them. and al qaeda is busy reconstitutes itself in pakistan and half a dozen other countries. the song writer who wrote the phrase, wishing won't make it so, spot-on. and anybody who thinks the middle east is suddenly going to transform itself into a peaceful civilization where majority rules, they just haven't been reading the history books. here's the question, is the arab spring worth it? go to cnn.com/caffertyfile, post a comment on my blog. or go to our post on the "the situation room" facebook page. >> you heard mitt romney today express concern that arab spring was turning out to be an arab winter. jack, a good question. >> i think mr. romney may have done himself a lot of damage
in libya moammar gadhafi's gone. the u.s. ambassador and three other people are dead because some terrorists in that country didn't like a movie critical of islam. syria's become a slaughter house murdering the civilian population at will. iran continues the march toward nuclear weapons. i don't want to even think what might happen if they get them. and al qaeda is busy reconstitutes itself in pakistan and half a dozen other countries. the song writer who wrote the phrase, wishing won't make it...
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Sep 27, 2012
09/12
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they were all trying to bring down gadhafi. from the onset of the revolution it was the extremists that provided security. after liberation was announced says misouri, there was increasing pressure on al qaeda in yemen and other places. coming to libya was easy. among those setting up camp, once bin laden's drive and held in guantanamo bay for five years, established a unit here. alleged to have been sent here by al qaeda's ar. according to security sources these islamist militia have common goal, weakening and then infiltrating libya's curity apparatus. in benghazi there have been more than a dozen assassinations of former military officers. sources tell cnn that many of them were reportedly on an islamist hit list to eliminate qualified individuals that could pose a threat. colonel of the libyan army was recently kidnapped. he says he doesn't know by whom or exactly why. he got a call from a man who spoke as if he knew him and said he had urgent information to pass on. outside his home in broad daylight two masked men forced
they were all trying to bring down gadhafi. from the onset of the revolution it was the extremists that provided security. after liberation was announced says misouri, there was increasing pressure on al qaeda in yemen and other places. coming to libya was easy. among those setting up camp, once bin laden's drive and held in guantanamo bay for five years, established a unit here. alleged to have been sent here by al qaeda's ar. according to security sources these islamist militia have common...
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Sep 14, 2012
09/12
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they're security services were decimated by the self-war even before then and after gadhafi was killed. >> back here in the united states, it was a very, very somber day, kate, pick up the story, it was hard to fight back tears. >> yes, flags are flown at half-staff throughout the country. they were the first victims killed inside the attack on the u.s. embassy in libya. today their bodies arrived in the u.s. in an emotional ceremony attended by president obama and hillary clinton. we have details on this, dan, as wolf and i said, a very tough and somber day. >> yes, it was a tough day, and what you heard from u.s. official social security that they were talking about the people behind the names. one thing they all had in common said the president is they believed in their mission, they knew the risk, and they accepted it. >> in the same week that americans remembered the pain of 9/11, another somber moment. a transfer of remains ceremony at joint base andrews as the bodies of four americans killed in libya came home. >> four americans, four patriots. they loved this country. they chos
they're security services were decimated by the self-war even before then and after gadhafi was killed. >> back here in the united states, it was a very, very somber day, kate, pick up the story, it was hard to fight back tears. >> yes, flags are flown at half-staff throughout the country. they were the first victims killed inside the attack on the u.s. embassy in libya. today their bodies arrived in the u.s. in an emotional ceremony attended by president obama and hillary clinton....
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Sep 24, 2012
09/12
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. >>> libya's revolution may have ousted moammar gadhafi but the power vacuum left behind have been partially filled by heavily armed militias. now they're the target of a new uprising. here's cnn's correspondent arwa damon. >> reporter: tragically, the violent assault on the u.s. consulate in benghazi may have been the sort of catalyst needed to galvanize change. blamed on extremists in a country awash with weapons and no real rule of law. for the majority of residents in this city, the birthplace of the libyan revolution, it was the final straw. thousands took to the streets on friday demanding an end to armed militias. this is not the new libya they sacrificed for. that same night, hundreds marched on the headquarters of the islamist militia group, forcing the militia that so many here loathed and feared to retreat into the shadows. it was an atmosphere of jubilation and euphoria. but what happened next would underscore just one of libya's many complexities. the crowd targeted a second location. it would turn out to be a headquarters, a militia backed by the government, part of the februar
. >>> libya's revolution may have ousted moammar gadhafi but the power vacuum left behind have been partially filled by heavily armed militias. now they're the target of a new uprising. here's cnn's correspondent arwa damon. >> reporter: tragically, the violent assault on the u.s. consulate in benghazi may have been the sort of catalyst needed to galvanize change. blamed on extremists in a country awash with weapons and no real rule of law. for the majority of residents in this...